SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) – Heavy snow fell in the Sierra Nevada as a winter storm carrying high winds rocked ski lift chairs and closed mountain highways as low-level showers set off alarms Sunday over large areas from California to Nevada.
More than 250 miles (400 km) of the Sierra, from north of Reno to south of Yosemite National Park, remained under winter storm warning through Sunday night or Monday morning.
Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly Ski Resort halted some operations as the brunt of the storm hit Saturday. The station posted a video of chairlifts swaying violently in gusts exceeding 100 mph (161 km/h), along with a Twitter reminder that the storm flaps are “always for your safety.”
South, Mammoth Mountain reported more than 20 inches (51 cm) of snow fell Saturday, with another 2 feet (0.6 meters) possible as the tail of the system moved into the Eastern Sierra.
The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab in Soda Springs, Calif., reported Sunday morning that more than 43 inches (110 cm) had fallen in 48 hours.
A 70-mile (112km) stretch of US Interstate 80 eastbound was closed Saturday “due to zero visibility” from the Northern California city of Colfax to the Nevada state line, they said transport officials. Chains were needed on much of the rest of I-80 and other mountain roads from Reno to Sacramento.
Several other key roads were closed due to heavy snow, including a stretch of California Highway 89 between Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe, the Highway Patrol said.
The U.S. Forest Service issued an inland avalanche warning in the mountains west of Lake Tahoe, where it said that “several feet of fresh snow and high winds will bring dangerous avalanche conditions.”
Gusts of up to 80 km/h (50 mph) that sent trees to homes in Sonoma County north of San Francisco on Saturday could reach 160 km/h (100 mph) over the crests of the Sierra Sunday, National Weather has announced Service.
Heavy rain was forecast all weekend from San Francisco to the Sierra Ridge with up to 2 inches (5 cm) in the Bay Area and up to 5 inches (13 cm) in Grass Valley northeast of Sacramento.
Alarms and warnings have also increased in Southern California as heavy rains have caused localized flooding in greater Los Angeles.
“Significant travel delays are possible due to the accumulation of snow on several mountain roads. This could include the Tejon Pass and the Grapevine area of Interstate 5,” the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service said in a statement.
Arizona meteorologists issued a winter storm warning for northern and central Arizona beginning Sunday evening for areas above 5,000 feet (1,525 meters), including Flagstaff, Prescott and the Grand Canyon, where temperatures were forecast freezing cold and up to a foot of snow.
As the storm leaves the western United States, it will sweep across the country and reach the lowlands by midweek, bringing heavy rain and below-average temperatures, said Marc Chenard, National Weather Service meteorologist at the center. National College Park, Maryland. .
“It’s going to be a busy week as this system moves across the country,” Chenard said Sunday.
The Associated Press
